University of Wisconsin, USA

The University of Wisconsin–Madison (also known as University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, or regionally as UW–Madison, or Madison) is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison is the official state university of Wisconsin, and the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It was the first public university established in Wisconsin and remains the oldest and largest public university in the state. It became a land-grant institution in 1866. The 933-acre main campus includes four National Historic Landmarks.

Madison has been labeled one of the “Public Ivies,” a publicly funded university considered as providing a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League. UW–Madison is organized into 20 schools which enrolled 29,153 undergraduate, 8,710 graduate, and 2,570 professional students and granted 6,040 bachelor’s, 3,328 graduate and professional degrees in 2008. The university employs 2,054 faculty members. Its comprehensive academic program offers 135 undergraduate majors, along with 151 master’s degree programs and 107 doctoral programs.

The UW is categorized as an RU/VH Research University (very high research activity) in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. In 2007, it had research expenditures of $913 million, making it the third largest in science and engineering and the largest in non-science expenditures in the nation. Wisconsin is a founding member of the Association of American Universities. The Wisconsin Badgers compete in 25 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA’s Division I Big Ten Conference and have won 27 national championships.